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Iroquoian, Ots-Toch, Broer Cornelis Van Slyck

At the time of colonial contact in the early 1600s, the Mohawk (Kanienʼkehá꞉ka) were the easternmost nation of the Haudenosaunee (Iroquois Confederacy), inhabiting the Mohawk River Valley in present-day upstate New York. Their territory included three main village clusters—later called the Lower, Middle, and Upper Castles—centered around sites such as Ossernenon, Caughnawaga, and Canajoharie.

Eastern Door of the Confederacy: The Mohawk were responsible for diplomacy with Algonquian neighbors and incoming Europeans. Their chiefs held key roles in the Haudenosaunee Grand Council.
Trade and Warfare: Early trade with the Dutch at Fort Orange gave the Mohawk access to firearms and expanded their role in the regional fur trade. They played a leading role in the Beaver Wars and in conflicts with the French and Algonquian groups.
Mission Influence: Some Mohawk converted to Christianity and migrated north to Jesuit mission towns in Canada, such as Kahnawà:ke, creating a lasting Mohawk presence in both countries.

Despite disease, warfare, and land loss, Mohawk communities endured and adapted, maintaining deep ties to both their traditional homelands and diaspora settlements.

My 9th great-grandmother Ots-Toch stands out as a deeply significant figure in early Northeastern colonial history, not only because of her heritage as a Kanienʼkehá꞉ka (Mohawk) woman from Kanatsiohareke—a vital Mohawk town on the Mohawk River—but because of her unique role at the intersection of Indigenous and Dutch colonial worlds.

Broer Cornelis Van Slyck, born in what would later become Breuckelen (Brooklyn), was a man of mixed Dutch and Indigenous (possibly Canarsee—Munsee-Mahican) heritage. Known as the Peacemaker of Early New York, he served as an interpreter and trader, bridging the Dutch with both the Mohawk and Mahican Nations. He was raised at Kanatsiohareke, where his marriage to Ots-Toch—a Kanienʼkehá꞉ka (Mohawk) woman from the same community—helped forge a vital connection between Indigenous and settler worlds during a time of great upheaval. Together, they gave rise to generations of cultural liaisons, interpreters, and leaders. As my 9th great-grandparents, Ots-Toch and Broer appear multiple times in our family tree, leaving behind a lasting legacy of cross-cultural bridge-building.

Though the Van Slyck surname has faded within Mohawk communities, their descendants continue—especially among families in Akwesasne, Kahnawà:ke, and Tyendinaga bearing names like Benedict, Conners, Fadden, Gibson, Jacobs, LaFrance, Lazore, Mitchell, Smoke, Tarbell, and Thompson. Like Ots-Toch, these descendants carry forward a legacy of diplomacy, storytelling, and cultural resilience. She is remembered in both Mohawk and colonial histories as a powerful matriarch who helped shape the identity and strength of a people still here today.

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Cornelis "Broer" Antonissen Van Slyck

Cornelis Antonissen Van Slyck, often called “Broer Cornelis” ("Brother Cornelis"), was a remarkable figure in early New York—an interpreter, peacemaker, and bridge between cultures.

Though early records listed him as born in Europe, the son of Teunis Cornelissen Van Slyck, a Dutch settler in Brooklyn, and an Indigenous woman.

A Life Between Cultures

Cornelis lived in Kanatsiohareke, a Mohawk community, and became fluent in both Kanienʼkehá꞉ka (Mohawk) and Mahican. His nickname suggests more than friendship—it likely reflects kinship ties with the Mohawk people, who often reserved such names and trust for those considered family.

As an interpreter and land negotiator, Broer played a critical role in Dutch-Indigenous relations across the Mohawk Valley and Catskills.

His landholdings at Caughnawaga (now a state archaeological site) and Cohoes—the latter reportedly a gift from the Mohawks—further suggest his deep-rooted Indigenous connections and respect within the community.

Early Dutch Roots

Cornelis’s father, Teunis, was among the earliest Dutch fur traders in New Netherland. Around 1614, Teunis likely lived seasonally along Gowanus Creek or Red Hook, near Canarsee villages, before permanent Dutch settlements were established.

No church records survive naming Cornelis’s mother—common when Indigenous women partnered with European men outside formal religious rites.

Broer Cornelis Van Slyck stands as a symbol of cultural convergence—a man born between worlds. His life reminds us that early American history was shaped not only by conflict, but also by connection, diplomacy, and enduring relationships. It also underscores how often women—especially Indigenous women—are overlooked in family histories, despite their central role in shaping kinship, culture, and ties to the land.

Modern Scholarship

Historians and genealogists have examined Cornelis's heritage. Jonathan Pearson's Contributions for the Genealogies of the First Settlers of the Ancient County of Albany acknowledges the Native ancestry through the maternal line, although without naming the mother. Pearson notes that Cornelis, known as "Broer Cornelis," married a Mohawk woman and had several children with her.

Jonathan Pearson’s Contributions for the Genealogies of the First Settlers of the Ancient County of Albany

Pearson's genealogical work, published in 1872, documents early settlers of Albany, New York. In his entries on the Van Slyck family, he notes Cornelis's close associations with the Mohawk people but does not explicitly state his mother's heritage. The absence of maternal information, common in cases of Native ancestry due to informal unions and lack of church records, leaves room for interpretation.

Lorine McGinnis Schulze’s The Van Slyke Family in America

Schulze's genealogical compilation focuses on Cornelis Van Slyck and his Mohawk wife, Ots-Toch. While the primary emphasis is on Ots-Toch, the work provides context on Cornelis's integration into Mohawk society, which may imply Indigenous maternal connections.

John F. Brock’s Genealogical Studies

Genealogist John F. Brock has conducted studies on the Van Slyck family, supporting interpretations of Native maternal ancestry for Cornelis.

Conclusion

The circumstantial and contextual evidence supports the view that Cornelissen Van Slyck's mother was Mohawk (possibly Algonquian). Her identity was likely unrecorded due to Dutch colonial biases and the informal nature of many early Dutch–Native unions. The combination of Cornelis's roles within the Mohawk community, the lack of maternal records, and land holdings strongly suggest a maternal Native American heritage.